Japan’s postal system is investing 150 billion yen in an 8% stake in the e-commerce venture Rakuten to strengthen a partnership in deliveries, fintech and other areas. (Japan Today)

Japan midfielder Yuki Kobayashi has apologized to Qatar officials for a "misunderstanding", after he accused a referee of threatening to kill him. (Japan Today)

Mizuho Bank suffered its fourth system glitch in two weeks Friday, dealing a serious blow to the management of one of Japan's top banks that has a history of troubling customers with technical problems. (Japan Today)

The Azumazeki stable, sumo's first to be opened by a foreign-born sumo elder, former sekiwake Takamiyama, and home to the sport's first foreign yokozuna, Akebono, will close its doors and merge with the Hakkaku stable, the Japan Sumo Association announced Friday. (Kyodo)

Railway operators in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Kansai region are moving up the departure times of their last trains beginning Saturday. (NHK)

A coronavirus variant reported in the Philippines has been detected in a man who arrived at Narita airport, near Tokyo, from the country. (NHK)

You’ve seen stories of foreign soldiers in Japan rehashed in films like ‘The Last Samurai’, but now a far more epic (and grounded) tale of Japan’s first samurai of African descent is coming your way in the form of a Netflix series. (timeout.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former sumo wrestler over the alleged possession of marijuana in Toshima Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 11). (tokyoreporter.com)

A capsule brought back to Earth by Japan's Hayabusa2 asteroid probe has gone on display for the first time at a museum near Tokyo. (NHK)

The head of the Japan's top auto association is getting behind a clean energy project that started in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. (NHK)

Japan's government plans to cap the number of people entering the country at 2,000 a day for the time being. Officials hope the measure will help prevent the spread of coronavirus variants. (NHK)

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi vowed Thursday to do all he can to have the remaining food import restrictions imposed by foreign countries in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident lifted based on science. (Japan Today)

Japanese airlines operating international flights have been asked by the transport ministry to limit weekly arrivals to up to 3,400 each in a bid to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday. (Japan Today)

The earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, wiped away the ancient Japanese village of Kesen. In the past decade, a small group of survivors has valiantly tried to rebuild the community, but a grim reality has set in: This emptiness will last forever. (New York Times)

The western Japanese city of Kobe says it has found that coronavirus cases caused by a variant first detected in Britain have been on the rise. The city says a recent survey shows about 39 percent of samples involved the variant. (NHK)

Fishery cooperative membership has fallen 24.4 percent in the period from the end of the 2010 fiscal year through March 2019 in three northeast Japan prefectures hit hardest by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami – Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima – according to a Kyodo News survey. (seafoodsource.com)

Cherry trees bloomed on Thursday in Hiroshima, the first in the nation this year and the second-earliest on record since observations began in 1953, the Meteorological Agency said. (Japan Times)

Japanese athletes at the Summer Olympics will not be eligible for coronavirus vaccinations offered by China since Japan has not approved the vaccines, Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa said on Friday. (Japan Today)

By producing high-quality timepieces that have been closely linked with people’s lives, the Seiko Holdings Group has shared time with people, in sorrow and in joy, throughout its history. (Japan Times)

Health care workers in Tokyo have started receiving their second shots of a coronavirus vaccine, about three weeks after receiving their first shots. (NHK)

Japan's authorities are moving to toughen provisions of the law dealing with juvenile offenders. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government has announced that X JAPAN's Yoshiki has been awarded the prestigious Medal Of Honor for his numerous charitable works, including his support and donations to frontline medical professionals during the COVID-19 crisis. (blabbermouth.net)

Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of a massive earthquake and tsunami that struck east and northeast Japan, triggering a severe nuclear accident. People in the country are remembering the lives lost in the disaster. (NHK)

With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear protests, Japan on Thursday mourned about 20,000 victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan 10 years ago, destroying towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. (FRANCE 24 English)

People in Japan are remembering those who were killed 10 years ago, when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan and triggered a nuclear catastrophe. A national memorial ceremony has been held in Tokyo. (NHK)